The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-21
A Dakota Journey.
VALLEY CITY. OAK

VALLEY CITY, Dakota, Aug. 20, 1887.
Editor Waterman A professor of a Wis
consin college who was spending his vaca-
ton in our little western college induced
me to take trip with him into that part of
north Dakota known as Devils lake coun-
try. judged the professor to be good OBJ
server, and | found my judgment was well
grounded. We left Valley City at half-past
ten A. NJ. August LIST, by the Northern Pa
cific railroad, and arrived at jamestown at
noon, where half a dozen hotel porters
fought over us, till one of them called out
Commercial House, only temperance
house in the city" That's where we will
CO." said the professor. That fellow had
taken the professor exact measure and he
carried us off, In the afternoon we strolled
out two miles to the North Dakota Hospital
for the Insane, where we were most pleas
antly entertained for several hours. The
buildings are elegant and comfortable,
lighted by electricity and heated by steam.
There are one hundred fifty patients there
of all grades of insanity, but there is not
barred door or window nor a straight jacket
on the premises. Everything is quiet and
orderly, more like home for invalids than
a mad-house, and so the patients are made
to feel that they are all "sick," never in
sane. There are six hundred acres of land
connected with the hospital, all under Guilt
walton, and all the work on that land is
done by the patients. We saw two of them
working in the finest tiower-garden this side
holding the pillow and driving the horse
alone, the attendant sitting on the cool YER
anda watching them. DIR. Drake, the as
sistant superintendent, asked the professor
at what hotel we stopped. Temperance
house" "Don't know it," " Commercial
Hotel" cob" cried the doctor, laughing.
"why, that fellow is the biggest hummer in
town"
Tuesday morning we left our temper
ance house " and took a train on branch
road running north ninety miles. We found
small towns every ten or fifteen miles, in
one of which (Melville) found an old Yer
| mont district school companion - Edgar
! Leavenworth, a son of Captain A. Il.
Leavenworth, one OF Vermonts noted
school teachers. The conductors four-min-
| utes' stop, were far too short in which
TO renew the acquaintance of my old-time
chum At the end of the road we found
Minnewaukan, place of perhaps two hun
| dred souls, a store or two, saloons, church
and thirty thousand dollar hotel fine
! three-story structure, on the west end of
| Devils lake. Some eastern capitalist had
been worked " by the boomers" but the
! great summer resort v does not material
ize. There was nothing OF interest here, so
we obtained horse and drove sixteen miles
| through the Sioux Indian reservation to
Fort Totten, where we put up with Frank
Palmer the Indian trader, who keeps a
| good hotel in connection with his post. We
| are indebted 10 Mr. Palmer for much in
formation concerning the Indians. He does
not believe that " the only noble red man is
a dead one" He has 81, 800 of last years ac-
counts on his ledger, and he expects to get
| il this fall. / was surprised, and asked If
the Indians would pay him voluntarily.